Deserving Viking Receives Elusive Pro Bowl Nod
In the summer of 2012, LeBron James won his first NBA championship as his Miami Heat toppled the Kevin Durant-led Oklahoma City Thunder. During the trophy presentation, he hoisted the hardware and proclaimed, “It’s about damn time.”
Well, that’s how Minnesota Vikings right tackle Brian O’Neill feels on Wednesday, earning Pro Bowl honors for the first time after Tampa Bay Buccaneers right tackle Tristan Wirfs bowed out of the event due to injury. O’Neill is the next man up, landing the Pittsburgh alumnus Pro Bowl recognition for the first in Year Four of his career.
While O’Neill wasn’t a totally egregious snub in the last three seasons, he probably should’ve snuck in at least once. In each season since the start of his sophomore campaign, O’Neill has tallied a grade north of 70.0 from Pro Football Focus. Such consistency nominates O’Neill as one of the top right tackles in the sport, so it was a poetic acknowledgment of achievement for the 26-year-old.
Before the 2021 season began, O’Neill signed a chunky extension with former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman, paying the offensive lineman $92.5 million over the next five seasons. Truth be told, that colossal deal probably put O’Neill’s name on the map, as he was relatively unknown outside of Vikings circles in his first three seasons.
At $18.5 million per season, O’Neill is the second-highest-paid right tackle in the NFL behind the New Orleans Saints Ryan Ramczyk.
In terms of durability, O’Neill is emphatically worth the big bucks. He’s the only Vikings player to start every game during the last two seasons. O’Neill has started 33 games since 2020, and Kirk Cousins (32 starts) is the closest suitor. O’Neill plays well when on the field – and he rarely misses time. Sounds like a franchise right tackle, doesn’t it?
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O’Neill joins three other Vikings players for Pro Bowl status in 2021 – Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, and Harrison Smith. Minnesota could add one or two more players to the NFC Pro Bowl roster – likely Kirk Cousins or Kene Nwangwu – once Super Bowl-bound players opt out of the event.
The Pro Bowl news for O’Neill hit the wire on the same day the Vikings hired a new general manager, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, an executive with past ties to the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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